Using Smart Board Technology in Education Essay

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this paper is to briefly explain the using of smart board in education (advantages and disadvantages). I will talk about the history of technological education, definition of smart board, history of smart board and smart board models. I believe that technology will be used more in education. The innovations in communication and information technologies have important effects on every field of life as well as education. Educational environments are changing with a great pace due to these innovations. Educational materials have to be renewed along with the developments in technology, so that given education can answer the needs of the new age. Going along with the technology is a must for educational institutions. Changing the educational institutions according to the necessary technological norms has become a daily conversation topic for anyone in and out of the field. The wind of change grasps everyone’s attention.

An education without the help of technology is unable to answer the needs of people both on individual and institutional levels. Using technology in every possible field has become a phenomenon, because of this, nowadays, the academia are worried about improving educational institutions according to modern technology. Nowadays, in most other parts of the world, technology has taken in its unavoidable place in classrooms. They let go the classical classrooms and go along with the technology. In smart boarded classrooms, teachers are teaching their students how to possess and use the information rather than mere explanations. Teachers are no more preachers in the classrooms, as they are becoming the guide towards information with the help of smart boards.

However, the crucial role of teachers is unquestionable no matter how much technology improves. Technological education tools are just means that are used. Technology is just a mean, it is not the final goal. The developments in technology have given a new shape to the modern education. Educational curricula, educational environments, education tools and materials have got into a new fashion. Teaching has got into a new dimension. In the past, education materials meant only blackboards, books, graphics and pictures; whereas, nowadays, things have changed enormously with modernist approaches. Especially, the usage of computers improved the education. Visual elements combined with sensory elements in computerized environments, this leads to easy learning which changes almost all of the parameters of the past.

1. CHAPTER 1

2.1. HISTORY OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

In this part, the history of educational technologies will be discussed. Visual media materials and developments in computer industry are combined in time in order to establish smart board technology. The history of smart boards will be dealt with as well. John Amos Comenius was recognized as the pioneer of modern instructional technology by reason of his book Orbis Pictus (The World in Picture) which was illustrated textbooks for children studying Latin & Sciences. In the following years the following achievements took their places in our lives. By 1920, visual media became widely accepted. Then came the publication of audio-visual media texts. In 1926, educational films were used as instructional media. In 1927, Pressey wrote on programmed learning through a machine which tested and confirm a learning task.

In 1932, the first instructional television program was aired at the State University of Iowa. About the same time, the 16 mm sound motion picture was developed and this served as the educational workhorse during the audio-visual movement of the time. Nowadays, the immense place of computers is observable from any aspect. We observe the widely use of computers in education. During World War II, the U.S. government encouraged the implementation of technology of instruction for military training programs. This gave impetus to a system approach to instruction to include: micro-teaching, individualized instruction, Language laboratories, behavioral laboratories, behavioral objectives, computer-assisted instruction and among others. If we give a short look into the development process of computers, we face the list below:

The Smart Board is an interactive whiteboard that uses touch detection for user input – e.g. scrolling, right mouse-click – in the same way normal PC input devices, such as a mouse or keyboard, detect input. A projector is used to display a computer’s video output on the interactive whiteboard, which then acts as a large touch screen. The Smart Board interactive whiteboard typically comes with four pens, which use digital ink and replace traditional whiteboard markers. Most Smart Board interactive whiteboards register only one touch at a time however, in June 2009, Smart Technologies introduced their first dual-touch interactive whiteboard. The dual-touch Smart Board interactive whiteboard accepts two simultaneous touches; however, the touches only register on two separate sides of the interactive whiteboard surface.

2.2. THE HISTORY OF THE SMART BOARD

“Smart Technologies” is one of the leading companies around the globe when it comes to the manufacture of smart boards. According to the records of this company, the evolvement of smart boards is as following. “Smart Technologies” is a Canada based company and it gave its first product in 1991 which is the very first smart board of those times. Later, in 1992, the company produced the first rear projection. In the following years, the evolvement of smart board technology continued its development. By 2003, the first digital-touch-screen smart board was produced. Nowadays, it is widely used.

2.3. SMART BOARD MODELS

In 1992 the SMART Board 585, which allowed the same kind of touch control and interactivity but on a rear projection screen. In 1994 the front projection version of the SMART Board 585 In 1997 SMART Technologies released their first In-Wall Rear Projection SMART Board In 1998 the first release of SMART Notebook Software for sale In 2003 SMART Technologies made a big step with their development of Digital Vision Touch Technology, which uses digital cameras to track finger and pen movements on a regular flat panel screen. In 2004 saw new features added to DViT technology

In 2008 an even wider variety of interactive hardware and software products were released. In 2009 new releases of SMART Technologies products include the dual touch SMART Board.

2.4. USING SMART BOARD IN EDUCATION

In recent years, more and more teachers have been able to use Smart Boards in their classrooms. Smart Boards look like traditional dry erase boards at first glance; in reality, they are fully interactive and digital. These boards allow a teacher to integrate a variety of classroom technologies into one format and provide several benefits to teachers and students alike. Now, let’s talk about advantages and disadvantages of using smart board in classrooms.

2.4.1. Advantages

* Saving Your Work

When you write notes for a lecture on a Smart Board, you can save them for later. This way, if a student was absent on the day you gave notes, he can stay after class the following day to copy them. You can also allow your students to access the notes online later so they can review the lecture after the fact. * Project Computer Displays

Use your Smart Board to project your computer screen in front of a class or group. This way, you can stand in the front during your presentation instead of hunching over your computer. Use your finger on the Smart Board the way you would use the mouse on a computer.

* Connect and Communicate

Connect several Smart Boards in different locations so you can communicate with people in more than one place at a time. This makes them ideal for distance learning or professional development sessions.

* Access Applications

In the middle of using the board as a note-taking or presentation tool, you can also use it to open up live websites or computer applications. Find a document on your computer or a resource online to contribute to your presentation, all through the Smart Board’s menu features.

* No More “Teacher Stains”

Avoid the telltale signs of being a teacher: chalk dust on your clothes or dry erase marker stains on your fingers. The Smart Board allows you to write digitally, so there’s no messy cleanup and no more markers or chalk to buy.

* Printing Options

Sometimes after a lecture you want to print off the notes to give to the assembled group. The Smart Board allows you to do this; you can use this as an accommodation for students in special education without making separate notes for them, or save copies for absent students.

2.4.2. Disadvantages

* Glitches

Where there is technology, there can be glitches. Smart boards require a computer, projector and the board itself to work properly. With three devices working simultaneously, glitches can occasionally happen. Teachers should always have an alternate plan in case something goes wrong with the smart board so as not to appear unprepared and potentially lose control of the class. Cables might not connect properly, smart board accessories may not always work and the smart board may not always sync with the projecting computer.

* Requirements

Projectors not only need to sync with the smart board, but there are limits as to how to position the projector in a classroom. Some classrooms have projectors wired and mounted to the ceilings. These projectors do not take up additional space in the classroom, but are difficult to adjust because they are not within easy reach. Projectors can also be positioned on a mobile cart, which makes them easy to adjust for the smart board, but they take up extra space in the classroom that could otherwise be used for student desks.

* Board Mounting

Most smart boards are mounted to the blackboard. While this provides a stable location for the board and limits the amount of time required to adjust the projector, the mounted smart board takes away from the blackboard surface area. Therefore, teachers will not have as much room to write on the board unless they opt to use the smart board in conjunction with the blackboard during every lesson. Teachers often need all the blackboard space they can get and a smart board can detract from this.

* Technological Limits

SMART boards offer to enhance lessons through technology, but some activities can be more easily accomplished without them. Since smart boards require time to set up, they make it difficult to take quick notes or jot down spontaneous ideas. smart boards cannot accomplish everything; they are limited based on the model version and what the current technology allows. While they make it convenient to save sets of class notes, the digitization of this material accumulates over time and can take up significant space on your hard drive.

3. CONCLUSION

The development process of educational technologies is explained in the first chapter. Brief history of smart boards and using them in classrooms as well. I researched the advantages and disadvantages of using smart boards in classrooms. The advantages an disadvantages of having smart boarded classrooms are investigated. The obvious result was the positive effect of smart boards in the educational developments.